Could neuropathic pain be treated by modulation of immune cells?

Scientists from Boston Children’s Hospital (MA, USA) and Seoul National University (Seoul, South Korea) have collaborated to determine that immune cells play a role in the repair of peripheral nerve damage. The paper, which has been published in Cell, presents the immune system as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Preliminary in vitro experiments demonstrated that natural killer (NK) cells could degenerate the axons of neurons. Neuronal cells were cultured in petri dishes and it was determined that dissociated neurons expressed large amounts of the NK ligand RAE1. When the neurons were co-cultured with active NKs,...